12/10/2004

A day after being challenged by a soldier on the U.S. Army's failure to provide adequate armor for vehicles used in Iraq, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday he was pleased to hear the gripe and expected that efforts would be made to resolve the problem.

Congress on Wednesday replaced a U.S. intelligence network geared to the Cold War fight against communism with a new structure requiring military and civilian spy agencies to join forces against the newest U.S. enemy -- networks of terrorists intent on waging a holy war against the United States.

Relations between Russia and the EU countries are gradually slipping into the danger zone of possible conflict. Several processes are unfolding simultaneously that increase the potential for conflict on one hand and the uncertainty of the decision-making process on the other. These points of conflict could have disastrous consequences, especially as the channels of communication between Russia and Europe are down.